My invention provides a trim, which is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, for covering and securing the edges of SHEETROCK or dry wall adjacent to the surrounding portion of fiberglass and acrylic bathtubs and shower stalls.
In general, individual sheets of dry wall are butted-up to the surrounding portion of a bathtub or shower stall and nailed or screwed at spaced apart locations along the edges thereof to tightly secure the dry wall to the wood stud framing (i.e., the wall) and against the bathtub. The edges of the dry wall are the most susceptible to cracking and crumbling due to hammer blows and pressure from screw guns. Such cracking and crumbling require taping and mudding (i.e., spackling) of the edges of the dry wall and results in unsightly bulges along the edges of the dry wall adjacent to the bathtub. The dry wall is then painted and/or wallpapered for a finished wall treatment.
Three conventional methods are employed to cover the joints between the bathtub or shower stall and the dry wall. A first method involves caulking the joints between the bathtub or shower stall and the dry wall. However, the caulk normally has to be touched-up on an annual basis and excessive moisture may deteriorate the edges of the dry wall.
A second method involves gluing and nailing wood trim to cover the joints between the bathtub or shower stall and the dry wall. However, there is a drawback in that wood trim looks out of place when employed as a trim for bathtubs or shower stalls. Further, the finishing nails tend to work loose and moisture deteriorates the wood over a period of time and in turn deteriorates the dry wall.
A third method is to place a two inch ceramic tile border around the bathtub or shower stall to cover the joints. However, the grout between tiles tends to crack due to the difference in the coefficient of expansion of the fiberglass bathtub and the dry wall as expansion and contraction occur. Further, installing the ceramic tile is expensive and requires that the edges of the dry wall be relatively smooth.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,887,663 (Reed, Jr.) relates to a plumbing fixture clip for joining a sheet metal wall panel to a bathtub. The clip member has vertically extending spaced apart legs for receiving the end of the wall panel, and a base member which is bolted to the rim of the bathtub. A gasket is placed between the base of the clip and the rim so as to provide a watertight connection. Also, waterproof cement may be filled in the space between the legs of the clip and the wall panel. However, the clip is bolted to the bathtub and is used strictly as a waterproof connector piece between the bathtub and sheet metal wall panels. In effect, the clip becomes an integral part of a completed cast iron bathtub and not a decorative trim for aesthetic purposes. Such a clip is not suitable for fiberglass or acrylic bathtubs or shower stalls having a surrounding portion or flange and employed with dry wall as in my invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,939,115 (Fritsche), U.S. Pat. No. 2,143,034 (Sakier), U.S. Pat. No. 2,350,790 (McCarthy), U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,268 (Hobbs), U.S. Pat. No. 2,967,309 (Corp), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,392 (Whitney) all teach various waterproof connector pieces disposed between the top lip or rim of a bathtub and a wall. The various pieces become an integral part of the completed bathtub to form a watertight joint and, hence, do not serve as a decorative trim for aesthetic purposes to be used between the surrounding portion of the fiberglass or acrylic bathtub or shower stall and dry wall as in my invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,197 (McColley) teaches a waterproof spacer disposed between the top rim of a bathtub and dry wall and which is covered with ceramic tile. Thus, the spacer is not even visible once the tile is positioned thereover so that the spacer is not a decorative trim.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,237 (Schooler) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,925 (Kuypers et al.) each relate to a complete wall compartment for a bathtub and not to decorative trim pieces for aesthetic purposes.